Promises
by xxAir
Summary: Takeshi Yamamoto is ready to pop the question to his long-term girlfriend, Hoshino Miyu, but is called away by Vongola Decimo before he could. As he leaves to help Tsuna, he didn't expect anything to happen to Miyu. But that was the last time he ever saw her. TYL!YamamotoxOC


Hey Guys,

Not much to say, but enjoy!

Review if you wish or like. This is my first non-fighting OC.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyoushi Hitman Reborn, just the OC Hoshino Miyu

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Promises

"Is it for someone special?" The clerk teased and the man's face flushed red slightly. It was obvious that it was. There was no other reason why anyone would spend such a large amount on a ring.

Yamamoto was a jewelry shop, purchasing none other than a beautiful stone. The velvety box was cracked open on the counter, revealing the beautifully cut diamond sitting on the simple silver band embedded with eight other small diamonds—four on each side. Yamamoto felt a small smile crawl across his fluster face as he laid eyes on ring. "Yeah," He muttered lightly as he handed the clerk the money. His eyes still casted towards the ring. Its simplistic beauty with subtle embellishment reminded him of her and he couldn't wait to see it decorating her fourth finger.

She was Hoshino Miyu, Yamamoto's girlfriend for four years and soon-to-be fiancée. Miyu was a soft gentle girl who somehow was able to withstand and understand Yamamoto's strange antics and behaviours that most people would be confused with. That being said, it wasn't that Miyu understood what he said 100% of the time—that wasn't possible. But Miyu tried her best and when she didn't understanding, she'll just laugh her sweet laugh at his strange actions and let it go. It was Miyu's sweet laugh and innocent nature that never pried into his secrets that made him fall in love with him.

"Ah, all the handsome bachelors are being swept away…" The clerk sighed lovingly at the handsome man's retreating back. When the male was completely out of sight, her eyes fell onto her own empty ring finger and she let out a loud groan and threw her hands in the air. "Where is my guy?!"

…

_Ah, there she is!_ Yamamoto thought spotting his love in her usual spot underneath the water fountain of _their_ park. It was the same spot where they first met. The two had gone to Namimori together but due to being put into different classes, they had never actually met until that day where she was feeding a stray cat in the rain.

Miyu had almost forgot about the cat due to exams, and in her haste to come over she forgot to take an umbrella. She didn't mind the rain, though she would probably be sick afterwards, but she didn't mind since the kitten had gotten her food. But she hadn't gotten ill. While she was watching the kitten finish her meal, Yamamoto had spotted her, drenched in rain and offered her his umbrella. He stood with her until the kitten finished and even walked her home afterwards since she didn't have an umbrella. Then he left his umbrella with her so she wouldn't forget to bring one next time it rains, despite Miyu's constant 'no's and 'it's fine's. Four years later, Miyu still had his umbrella and she never forgets to bring it.

"Miyu!" Yamamoto called, waving his arm as he neared the smaller girl. His waving arm slowed and smile dropped at the sight of his girlfriend. She was tapping her feet with her arms cross across her chest. Her cheeks were puffed slightly as she pouted at him and she jerked her face away from the male as soon as he neared. _Ah, she's still mad…_ Yamamoto chuckled lightly inwardly.

Their last date—if it could be called a date—had gone really poorly. He had stood her up. It wasn't the first time either. At first it wasn't a big deal since it was only a couple minutes here and there and it was because Yamamoto always stayed slightly longer after his baseball practice to practice some more. But he had long since quit baseball for something else, something that he wouldn't tell Miyu and she didn't pry as long as he was safe. So when he did show up for their date, two and a half hours late, with a cut on his chin, she wanted an explanation. Surprisingly, Yamamoto conceived, but the explanation was, as usual, incomprehensible. You think that four years later, he wouldn't be describing everything with gestures and sound noises, but then you'd guessed wrong. As usual, Miyu let the issue drop, entertained beyond compared by her boyfriend's strange gestures.

"You're late!" Miyu puffed, throwing her hands on her hips animatedly. She leaned over, looking down at him in mock anger. She had climbed onto the edge of the fountain so she could taller than him just to look down at him.

"Sorry, I got held up!" Yamamoto excused quickly, scratching the back of his head. A sheepish grin laid across his face as he looked back towards the fuming Miyu. A pinch on the cheek later, Miyu hopped down from the fountain's edge with a smile across her face. Her anger completely gone. She spun around until she was facing him, a large smile barely contained on her small face as she waited for him to start walking. As soon as he did, she turned around again and continued her exaggerated walk before him, often calling back to him while trying to balance on her large steps.

The two were now walking side by side as Yamamoto had caught up to the tired girl. Her strides were no longer twice as wide as usual, she had reverted back to walking in her normal strides when she almost fell from her lack of energy. It was surprisingly tiring to walk with large steps.

"How could they just do that? Ganging up on a poor girl!" Miyu huffed. Her brows were furrowed together into a 'v' as she recanted the other day's events to Yamamoto who just listened happily. She was telling him the story of when she was walking home and saw two foreign boys picking on a poor girl. "It was two against one. It just wasn't fair! Not to mention mean!" She continued, getting worked up on the past event. Yamamoto didn't mind, he found it cute. "I couldn't stand it! So as scared as I was – the two guys were huge – I went to be with the girl."

The usual smile on Yamamoto's face dropped slightly. If there was one thing he didn't like about Miyu was her carelessness for her own safety. She would often see others in need and rush in to help them without thinking of much for her own health and safety. It was like she loved the hero role except she had no special powers or anything to fight the villains with. Miyu was just Miyu. She was as harmless as a fly. Before he could voice his opinions, Miyu continued.

"I told them that I knew Tae Kwon Do," Miyu said, causing the Rain Guardian to glance at her curiously. Her hands were laced together behind her back as she glanced up with a foolish grin on her face. Slowly, Miyu turned to face him. She stuck out her small tongue and smile innocently at the male. She knew exactly what he was thinking. Miyu had lied. She didn't know any kind of self defense. "Then I did some random pose that I saw on TV and the boys ran away, scared." She explained, posing once for him.

Yamamoto's booming laughter resonated around her. It was so light and cheerful. The warmth from the laughter brought the corners of her lips into another smile before she too started to giggle at the events. It was just pure luck that no one had gotten hurt and that the foreigners truly believed the stereotype that all Asians knew some form of martial arts.

Her smile dropped slightly when a large hand plopped onto her short blue hair. Confused, Miyu glanced up at the beaming male who was now chuckling lightly. "If you're ever in danger, I'll save you." Yamamoto promised causing Miyu's face to flush red. Immediately she duck her face and stared at the suddenly very interesting ground while her hands went up to block his view to her face. The red on her face deepened as Yamamoto's laughter returned to full volume. This time at his girlfriend's cuteness.

The sound of a ring caught Miyu and Yamamoto's attention. The red flush on Miyu's face soon dissipated the air around Yamamoto changed as he picked up the phone. The large smile that once brandished his face was replaced by a thin line and a hardened look had appeared in his eyes. The phone call ended shortly after.

"Who was it?" Miyu questioned, curiously. She leaned on one foot, twisting slightly as she tried to mimic the lighter mood that once surrounded them before the call came. It didn't work. She couldn't even keep her voice light as she already knew what was coming. Yamamoto was going to ditch before the date even started. Again.

"Gokudera-san." Yamamoto responded, one-wordly. He didn't even glance down towards his lover as he mentioned the name. There was also a hardened edge in his tone. All he did was grip the velvet box in his pocket tightly before turning to face her. He would propose later; Vongola's Decimo needed him.

At the one word, Miyu knew it was another secret. "Ah, so I'm guessing it's Tsuna then." Miyu watched as a sheepish grin spread across his face and she knew she was right.

"How did you know?" He scratched the back of his head slightly

"Gokudera-kun only ever cares about one thing."

Yamamoto's sheepish grin remained on his face while he glance down towards his girl, silently asking for permission to leave and apologizing for it at the same time. Miyu met his look back, staring up at the man she had loved for four years. She had told herself many, many times that if this—him ditching her—continued, then she wouldn't stay. She would leave him. But she could never find herself letting him go. He was always so nice and so gentle. But, she had made herself a promise—today, if he had ran off, then she'll forget about him.

Miyu's pink lips trembled as she opened them, ready to tell him to stay.

Yamamoto pulled her close, brushing his lips against her forehead in a light kiss before twisting on his heel and running away. "I'll see you tomorrow!" He promised, waving back towards her once before leaving her to watch his retreating back.

But she did. Miyu wasn't selfish, she knew Yamamoto. It had to be something important if it took him away from her. Something really important. The hard look in his eyes were enough to tell her. It always brought a small smile to her face seeing the determination in those tawny brown eyes, but at the same time it scared her. Every time it was like eyes telling her that this might be the last time she saw him and that thought scared her deeply. Slapping her cheeks lightly, Miyu shook the thought out of her mind. Yamamoto had promised to see her tomorrow and she trusted him enough to know that he would never break a promise.

She watched her lover shrink in the distance until he was completely out of sight before releasing a sigh. _I'll leave him next time._ She half-heartedly promised as she turned around with a warming smile on her face. The smile dropped slightly as she remembered something. _Ah, he didn't even notice the new dress I wore just for him!_

Miyu's little rant was cut short as her face collided with something black. Glancing up, she realized she had just walked into someone. The man was dark, bald and wore thick rimmed black sunglasses that hid his eyes well. The sunglasses matched the black suit well. _Ah… he doesn't look happy._ Miyu thought as the male glared over his upturned lips down at her.

Jumping back quickly, "I-I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention!" Miyu apologized, bowing at the waist. She had thought that would be it, but found that she was wrong as she tried to walk around the man only to have the path blocked by another suited man. "Excuse me," She tried to no avail.

"You're Hoshino Miyu." The bald man stated, his Japanese thick with accent.

Miyu bit her tongue. She was a psychology major who specialized in social behaviours and doubled with linguistics. The tone he just used towards her was enough to set up flags. There was no way she was going to answer some foreigners, even though he had stated it more so than asked. More flags were set off when she saw more of the suited males surrounding her.

"I-I know Tae Kwon Do," Miyu tried. It had worked before, maybe it would again? Seeing no reaction, she sank back into the position she had saw on TV, hoping that it would work. This was about as much as she knew.

It didn't work.

In a blink of an eye, Miyu's blood froze over. Her right ear was ringing so loudly she thought she had gone death and her cheek was split open. Tears pooled around her eyes, threatening to poor out. And out it did. Tears streamed down her face, mixing painfully with the blood oozing from her right cheek as she stared at the smoking gun in the hands of the bald man. Pointed straight at her.

There was a gun.

The gun was pointed at Miyu.

The gun was fired.

Miyu had been shot!

Finally processing what had happened, her legs wobbled before giving out. Pain soared through her body, resonating from her bloody cheek. Strangled cries and shouts of pain swirled together like the mix of blood and water on her cheek. Miyu doubled over, gripping her bleeding cheek as she curled into a ball, trying to push away the reality of the pain of a bullet grazing past her.

Miyu heard the clacks of the Ralph Laurens that the foreigner wore as he slowly strode towards her. And as he did so, her voice quieted and fear pulsed from her eyes as she watched the shiny gun carefully. Her throat constricted at the sight. It was so close to her. So close. _Takeshi..._ She cried helplessly. Miyu shut her eyes tightly, thinking that death would be soon.

But he never aimed at her again. Instead he gripped her thin wrist and ripped her sorry state from the ground, almost popping her shoulder as he did so. His mouth twisted into a sadistic smirk at her yelp. "Know Tae Kwon Do, my ass." He scoffed, throwing the weak girl over his shoulder. "You're coming with the _Fianfio Famiglia._ We have some unfinished business with the Vongola." The Fianfio head pressed his revolver against the thrashing woman, making sure that she could feel the metal through her thin dress. It seemed to work as her movements stilled. She was as still as a rock. She didn't even dare to breathe. Not until the gun left her.

As soon as the metal stop painfully digging into her side. Miyu gathered her strength, hoping the male wouldn't shoot her for doing so. "TAKESHI-KUN!" Miyu shouted, remembering the back of her boyfriend as he ran off. He said he'd always come to rescue her when she was in trouble right? He shouldn't be too far away. He just left. "TAKESHII!"

And that was the last anyone saw of Hoshisno Miyu.

~3 years later~

"And then it went _gyuu gyuu_ but I went _pan pan_ and it stopped." Yamamoto explained, a large smile on his face. Onlookers glanced at him confused at first, but then their eyes softened at the sight. Yamamoto was sitting before a stone slab, enjoying his time with it. Or rather the person it represented.

The words HOSHINO MIYU were engraved into the stone slab before him. Although she didn't physically lay in that spot six feet under. Hoshino Miyu was never found ever since her disappearance three years ago. There was a search party held for her as soon as she was declared missing, but after a year and a half of no leads, she was presumed dead. A funeral was held for her half a year later.

But Yamamoto hadn't given up yet. He and the Vongola _Famiglia_ were still determined to find her.

Hearing the blades of grass bend behind him, Yamamoto got up, but remained facing his lover. Tsuna stood behind him, paying his respect to the grave first before calling for Yamamoto. Yamamoto bowed to his girlfriend before following Tsuna away from the tomb.

"Bel said that he may have gotten a lead on Miyu-san. He said he found someone who fit Miyu's description." Tsuna started, but pulled the envelope back from Yamamoto's eager hands. He didn't want to get his hopes again. "It could also be false… like the twenty ones or so before." With a knowing nod from Yamamoto, Tsuna relented and handed his loyal hand the manila envelope.

Quickly Yamamoto slipped the contents out into his hand. His brown eyes widened at the extra information this time. This time, there was also a photo. Bel had managed to get a snapshot of the evidence this time as blurry as it was. Yamamoto recognized the small girl's frame quickly, taking in the sight of the shoulder length blue hair. She looked like what Yamamoto would expect Miyu to have looked after these three years, even if the details were a bit blurry.

"Bel said that the girl was going to partake in a ring competition." Tsuna announced much to Yamamoto's shock.

That shouldn't be possible. Yamamoto's brows furrowed together at the sight of strange rings on her right hands and the belt the girl was wearing. They were box weapons hanging off the belt. That didn't make any sense. Miyu shouldn't be associated in any way with the underground businesses. She shouldn't even know about it seeing as how hard he tried to keep her out of it. He was grateful that she never pried. Nor should she have the ability to activate the dying will flame. But the photo looked so much like her.

The photo crumbled slightly under Yamamoto's grip. He had to at least try! He snapped his head towards his boss, ready to speak only to have Tsuna comment before him.

"I share your thoughts as well." Tsuna said calmly. "We can't all go in, and there's no guarantee that she is Miyu, but Gokudera and I will be at the rendezvous point in case anyway." He told and Yamamoto felt relief wash across his features at his boss's response.

…

It didn't take much for Yamamoto to be signed up for the ring competition. In fact, since he joined, there had been more talk about it than ever, not that he mind. All he cared about was finding Miyu and the people responsible for her disappearance. He scoured the area, trying to find any sight of the blue-haired maiden, but he didn't seem to be in luck. There was only males here. Yamamoto clench his fist tighter at the thought that this might be another dead end.

"That naive girl." At the mention of a female, Yamamoto's head snapped up. It was three males dressed in black suits and adorning sunglasses chattering away. "She honestly believes that she would be free if she wins this." _There is a girl here._ Yamamoto thought happily, hoping that luck would be in his favour this time. "As if, she's such an important asset now." The bald man laughed sinisterly.

"Though it was surprising to find out that she had the ability to use the dying will flame." His subordinated announced and the head couldn't help but nod. It was a strange development that neither of them had expected.

"It had happened suddenly too." The third added.

Before Yamamoto could approach the family to ask about who they were talking about a message was broadcast across the warehouse. **"All contestants please enter the ring."** It said. **"I will now explain the rules of this year's ring competition—Battle Royal. When the game starts, the storage box given to each contestant at the start will open and inside is a piece of paper with a name and **_**famiglia**_** name on it. Each contestant's name will be on another contestant's slip. So each contestant will be hunting and be hunted! The contestant's tasks is to eliminate the contestant named on their piece of paper by any means. Once eliminated, the winner will take the loser's target and eliminate them. The last one standing will be the winner!"**

_The moment of truth._ Yamamoto thought as he looked up at the four television screens above counting down from sixty. The rules were simple, all he had to do was defend himself and eliminate all in his way. He hope that if Miyu was here, that he'd get her name instead of someone else. That way she wouldn't be targeted by someone else. Though he doubt that she would actually be here. Miyu wouldn't enter in a competition where she'd had to hurt someone. She had to place a towel over the dead fish's head and apologize to it when she made him his favourite sushi.

"**3…2….1…Start!"** The voice announced cheerfully.

Each participant quickly ignited their rings and plugged their flames into the box and as per their instructions the box opened, revealing to them their target. Smirks flittered across the contestant's faces as they studied the name and family their target belonged to and within seconds they were off. All except for a certain contestant.

As the count finished, Miyu pulled the box from her pocket and focused on generating the yellow flame. Ever since a year ago when she truly believed that Yamamoto wouldn't be coming to save her, she became determined to escape on her own. At first she didn't believe what the Fianfio _Famiglia_ was telling her. They had said that Yamamoto, _her_ Yamamoto was part of some kind of Mafia gang. It was just preposterous the idea. She had adamantly told them that they got the wrong girl. Takeshi Yamamoto was a very common Japanese name and they probably had a mixed up. But they were certain that they had the right individual and Miyu stopped denying it when they brought her an image of the Rain Guardian of Vongola. It really was Takeshi.

They had told Miyu almost everything after that, including her role as their hostage. At first Miyu was completely defeated by the news, her trust broken and her heart ached, but the more they told her the more Miyu found herself not caring. In fact, she found herself already knowing the information that they were telling her. She had heard it all before… from Yamamoto. It wasn't exactly the same, she had to admit. Yamamoto had told her stories, elaborate stories, in his incomprehensible sound-effect-filled way that at the time she couldn't understand. But he had told her and on a subconscious level, Miyu had understood.

Yamamoto wasn't a liar. He hadn't lied to her. She just didn't pry too deeply into his stories. She had innocently laughed everything off. Yamamoto wasn't a liar and so, Miyu trusted him to save her. Two years later, Miyu found herself at a loss. She had caught wind of her funeral and the fact that everyone had given up on her. Her search party was dismantled and there was still no signs of Yamamoto ever finding her. To make matters worse, the Fianfo _Famiglia_ was getting impatient with their lack of results. So when they came to finish the already worse for wear woman, Miyu was determined to escape on her own and that determination manifested itself physically in the form of a yellow dying will flame.

_After this, I'll be free._ Miyu reminded herself and she plugged the flame into her storage box. Immediately it imploded, replaced by a fluttering piece of paper. All Miyu had to do was eliminate the person named on the sheet of paper. Miyu turned the piece of paper over, reading the individual's name.

...

Yamamoto sliced through his first three targets easily. The only thing he had used so far was one his sword and even then it wasn't difficult to get by. However, after his third target fell, he felt his brows furrow together as he picked up his fourth target. He had no idea who it was! Not even the family name. _Dang it! Why is this place full of lesser known famiglia?_ Yamamoto thought as he ran around, trying to find his target. _Who exactly was Don Viago?_ Yamamoto's thought was cut short as he activated a box, raising a wall of water to block the incoming flame attacks.

"You're Japanese, right?" The attacker shouted startling the samurai who barely had time to answer when the storm flame user fired another explosive blow towards him. "I finally found you!" He announced ecstatically, his tongue hanged from his mouth.

"I don't know if you're my target, but you don't think they'll mind if I took you out, will they?" Yamamoto questioned easily and pointed to the TV which he has related to the announcer. His easy-going smile disappeared almost instantly and his brown eyes revealed the seriousness that they held as he prepared for battle. Yamamoto threw two boxes into the air before him as the storm user charged towards him.

"Next time, you might want to _shuu shuu _your _gizz gi_ more." Yamamoto advised as he squat down next to the unconscious and defeated male, rummaging through his pockets to find the scrap of paper. "Aha!" He cheered happily as he pulled out the tiny piece of crumpled paper. "Lucky!" He whistled at the first name on the sheet of paper. The man he had just defeated was Don Viago… and his target was…?! _"You're Japanese, right?"_ Don Viago's words resonated in Yamamoto's mind and he truly thanked his stars for the luck that caused the man to mistake him as his target.

…

Miyu leaped back, dodging yet another attack from the burly man. He was the second man to attack her. "Why are you attacking me? I'm not your target!" Miyu shouted, as she ran away from the mist user, following her sun flame lynxes. She found herself reeling back when she almost crashed into a wall she hadn't seen.

"Is running all you can do?" The attacker laughed as Miyu ran into yet another dead end. In actuality, it wasn't a dead end, only a wall, but he was a mist flame user and constructions of something as simple as walls weren't something that he wasn't incapable of. "If I defeat you now, then I wouldn't need to later on." The man laughed at his brilliant plan. He advanced forward as the girl took a step back with each step. The lynxes before her growled lowly.

Before the male could attack the small girl, he fell over suddenly, a large gash on his front from a taller handsome male dressed in a suit. When or how he had done that attack was unknown to Miyu. She hadn't even seen him come.

Miyu couldn't see who it was that had saved her because his back was to her, but something told her that she didn't want to know who it was exactly as she laid eyes on the bleeding cut on the fallen male's front. Her eyes darted back towards the turning man in the suit as the illusions of the walls next to her died away with the male. Her eyes widened and her breath hitched at the unmistakeable sight of the male before her.

"Are you really Miyu?" Miyu felt her throat constraint at the mention of her name. The tone of voice was undistinguished to the linguistic undergrad and she couldn't see his brown eyes hidden in the shadows of his hair.

For once Miyu was glad that Yamamoto couldn't recognize her. If it had been three years ago, she would have probably smack the silly baseball player for not recognizing his own girlfriend, but now, she was happy that her face was hidden by the handkerchief that covered the lower half of her face. Her eyes downcast towards the ground as she hid her eyes from his view. Tears were pooling around the corners of her eyes as she struggled against the warmth spreading through her core. Miyu was happy, immensely so. Yamamoto was still searching for her, after all these years. And he had finally found her.

Miyu knew from the start of the game that he had found her. She knew from the beginning of the game that Yamamoto was here. She had gotten his name from the storage box after all. But that proved just another yet very troubling issue. Only one of was to get out ring and Miyu was all but ready to fight for her freedom until she read the name of her target. There was no way she could fight Yamamoto and hurt him. She just couldn't.

"Are you really Miyu?" Miyu jumped at voice. It was so cold and hard. It was so unfamiliar to Miyu. Miyu who had only ever heard his light and carefree tone of voice. His eyes reflected the same dark tone. Miyu felt her lips curl indefinitely at the sight of his determined eyes and well… the sight of him. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes and all she wanted to do was nod, let her lynxes' flame's die and run into his large arms.

But she didn't. There was no way she could, not if only one of them could escape unscathed. If he found out who she was, then he would sacrifice himself for her. Instead, she raised her arm and her lynxes dashed forward towards the much larger male. It was a futile attempt. Miyu's eyes widened at the strangely slow movements of her felines. It was then that she realized that there was rain around them despite them being inside a building.

"Kojirou's rain is infused with the tranquility attribute making anything under its shower slower. Kojirou's been circling us for a while now." Yamamoto explained calmly as he easily slipped passed the slow cats. In a blink of an eye, he was before the smaller girl, whose eyes were as wide as plates. "Are you Miyu?" He questioned again.

At the sound of her name leaving his lips, Miyu snapped back to reality and as quickly as she could, she stepped back from the man, but she wasn't fast enough as Yamamoto managed to hook his fingers into her makeshift mask just before she pulled away. The mask fluttered into the air between them, revealing Miyu's small round face with a scar over her right cheek where the bullet had grazed her.

"Miyu!" Yamamoto shouted, rushing forward only to collide with a barrier. His eyes remained wide on the panting girl who had just trapped herself in the corner. She was holding an open box out before her. Her other hand was pressed against the box. She really could use the dying will flames! Snapping back out of his shock, he pounded against the glass barrier she had released that was enhanced with her sun flames. "Miyu!" He shouted again. "Why won't you let me hold you?"

Miyu twitched at the pain in his voice and her arms lowered, her eyes remained focused on the floor as tears spilled from her eyes. She didn't want to hear him in such pain. She didn't want him to hurt at all. Miyu shook her head lightly shushing her lover slightly as she gave herself time to swallow the cry burning on her throat. "I've been a bad girl, Takeshi-kun..." She muttered quietly as she slowly made her way towards the barrier. "At first, I waited for you patiently. I clung onto our last conversation and your promise to save me no matter what. I still believe you to keep that promise. I knew you would find me, but I just didn't know when." A small chuckle left the girl's mouth. "I guess I grew impatient… and then I made a deal with the _Fianfio Famiglia..._" The Italian name slipped of her tongue perfectly and Yamamoto's eyes narrowed at the cut on her cheek that she had subconsciously traced with her hand. "They were the one who took me." Yamamoto's brown eyes glinted dangerously at those conformational words. "Although I could barely use the flame properly and I can't fight, they told me if I took place in this competition and win then… then... I'd be free..."

Yamamoto jumped when he heard Miyu's voice break. She was crying! His eyes softened as her small hands flew to muffle her soft cries. Yamamoto didn't push her as she slowly calmed herself down again. Swallowing another cry, she locked her tearful eyes with Yamamoto's dark brown ones. "I was ready to kill for my freedom…" Yamamoto's eyes widened at those words. Miyu, the one who shared her lunches with ants so that they wouldn't go hungry, the one who risked getting ill to feed a stray cat, the one who had so much difficulties making him toro sushi because it involved hurting a dead fish, was ready to kill a human for her freedom?!

"M-Miyu…" Yamamoto muttered surprised and shock written all over his features. His once pounding hand was now still as he watched his sobbing lover on the other side. Her small frame was shaking furiously from the tears that wouldn't stop rolling down her small face.

"B-but… I can't… I couldn't do it." Miyu cried between sobs much to Yamamoto's relief. She hadn't actually done it. She was still as pure and innocent as she was three years ago. The small girl dug through her pocket and placed her hand flat against the glass barrier where Yamamoto's hand stood on the other side. She was still shaking softly as she did so. Her eyes were no longer locked with his. They were off to the side in shame.

Lifting his hand slightly, Yamamoto froze at the name written on the small slip of paper held between the tips of her fingers. The tag held his name.

He was her target.

"You have me, don't you?" Miyu asked softly. Her voice no longer wavering as much, but it was still tired. Yamamoto nodded once and Miyu released the breath she didn't know she was holding.

Yamamoto pressed his forehead towards the glass where Miyu was leaning hers and his hand covered hers once more, although the glass barrier still remained between the two. The two lovers stared deeply into each other's eyes. Sadness clear in both of them.

There was still the two of them left and only one of them could come out.

"I'm going to attack you now," Miyu's eyes widened at Yamamoto's sudden announcement. She hadn't expected him to kill her for his own freedom. Though that is what she wanted. But she couldn't help but feel a bit upset at how he didn't hesitated. She had somewhat wanted him to show some kind of sacrifice or denial of the events, stating that there was a way for the two of them to escape like she often see the males do in TV dramas. "It may hurt a bit, but when I do, I want you to—"

Yamamoto's calm instructions were interrupted as the barrier between the two vanished and the caster ran into his chest, burying her tear stained face into his chest. If Miyu was going to go, then she was going to be selfish. She was going to hold her lover one last time before she was to die.

Yamamoto followed the exhausted and crying girl down to her knees, whispering sweet nothings to the top of her head. He bump the blunt shinai against her back lightly as some kind of 'attack' to her. He turned towards the TV hovering above them, and shouted, "Hey, she no longer has the will to fight. Her flame's gone. Game's over, right?"

Miyu clutched his dress shirt in confusion. But she was still alive.

"Another way to eliminate an opponent is to make them unable to create anymore dying will flame. Without that they can't fight and when you can't fight, you're eliminated." Yamamoto explained easily towards the teary face of the female.

Miyu's eyes widened at the words sank. She pushed herself back from her lover. "T-then I needlessly murdered someone?!" Miyu shouted as she remember the first male that attacked her. She had used her flames lynxes to attack the male. "I'm a murderer…" She mumbled, and her thoughts bordered hysteria.

Her face dropped and her emotion turned from shame and sadness to irritation at the carefree laugh escaping the Yamamoto's lips. "You mean that guy?" He laughed and pointed towards the fallen male that Miyu had somehow managed to defeat by herself. A nod from the girl caused the male to snicker greater. "You hold the sun flame ability which holds almost no offensive power. The _sereno_ flame's ability is stimulation and augmentation. You probably just augmented his level of exhaustion until he fell asleep. You just knocked him out. He's very much alive." He explained while Miyu's face slowly relaxed with understanding. Another chuckle escaped the man's lips as she held his girl tighter. "Besides you're not good enough at fighting to actually hurt someone… sending all your cats forwards while leaving yourself wide open." He chided and immediately laughed at her puffed up face.

"Shut up!" Miyu pouted and slapped the guardian lightly on his chest. His laughter grew louder at her childish act. Miyu really hadn't changed in these three traumatic years. However, the little Miyu's attention wasn't focused on the laughing male anymore, instead it centered on the strange lump she had smacked. Rummaging through his pockets, Miyu pulled out a velvet box. "What's this?" She questioned.

At her question, Yamamoto's laughter stopped and a warm smile spread across his face as he stared at the ring box that he had purchased three years ago. "I was going to do this three years ago. On the last date we had together actually…" He started as he grabbed the box from his lover's small hands causing her to look at him in confusion. She froze not long after at the serious look in his eyes. It was different than before. It held warmth rather than the dank cold like earlier. "This wasn't exactly how I wanted to do it, but…" Slowly, Yamamoto popped open the box to reveal the beautiful ring inside. "Hoshino Miyu, would you marry me?"

"Yes!" Instinctively, Miyu wrapped her arms around the larger male, pulling herself close to him. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes again but this time from happiness. She could feel the vibration of her boyfriend and now fiancé laugh against her chest pressed against his. Miyu was slowly pulled away from her lover as he slipped the ring delicately on her left hand, glad that it still fit. Miyu stared at the precious stone in glee. It was so beautiful.

Her happiness didn't last long as her lips slowly fell and her other hand covered the ring on her left. She bit her lip and hung her head down much to the other male's confusion. "…They still haven't let us out…" Miyu muttered and the words seem to recognize in the Vongolian. She was right. The two had been here long enough for the announcers to end the competition and allow them to leave. But they hadn't which meant that… the game was still on. Even if the game had ended, Miyu hadn't won, she wasn't free yet.

"Then when they said 'eliminate' they really mean it." Yamamoto muttered to himself as he got up. He pulled Miyu to her feet, smiling sweetly at her. "Promise me you'll stay by my side."

Miyu tilted her head in confusion. "What are you going to do?"

"We're getting out of here together. I'm not going to lose you again." Yamamoto promised, his tawny brown eyes piercing her violet ones. Miyu wanted to question the man, but she found herself unable to voice her questions. The determination in those eyes brought a strange sense of security to the woman rather than its strange empty fear of losing him. She trusted him. Trusted him to keep to his word and to his promises. She trusted him with her life. Miyu nodded and he turned around to the nearest fence. "The Fanfio _Famiglia_ took you, right? Do you remember how they look like?" He questioned darkly and Miyu could feel the hairs on her skin standing up. Yamamoto was angry.

"Un," Miyu nodded and pointed towards the three suited males that Yamamoto had seen earlier that day. The three jumped slightly before getting into position. They pulled out guns, smug as the Vongolian was still trapped in the birdcage of an arena. Miyu's flinched at the sight of those shiny guns. "T-Takeshi…"

"Stay close behind me." He said calmly, pulling her closer towards his back. He open another box revealing a small shiba inu. "Jirou, stay with Miyu." He ordered and the dog yipped happily before taking a defensive stance before the girl. She questioned whether or not such a small dog could actually defend her. Actually, she felt like she should be the one shielding the cute puppy.

A bark from the three sword-wielding dog and the samurai was off. A large rip was left in the cage's fence as Yamamoto easily slipped passed the structure towards the three nameless mafia members.

Miyu tensed when she heard gun shots. "Takeshi-kun!" Her movements were halted by a growl by her heel. It was Jirou. He was telling her to stay, but… Miyu glance out towards the rip that marked Yamamoto's exit. Her eyes widened at the droplets of rain. She looked up towards the sky and sure enough Kijirou was encircling above the field. Slowly Miyu forced herself to relax, her hands clamped together over the precious stone on her left hand as she wished that he was fine. _He's fine. He promised._ Miyu told herself, feeling herself calming at those words.

"Anyone else want to fight against the Vongola _Famiglia_?" Yamamoto shouted from below. He had easily dealt with the Fanfio _Famiglia_ and was now questioning the other _famiglia_ in the area. These event had always been popular with a lot of emerging _famiglia_s trying to become big. None took up the challenge to best the Vongola's Rain guardian. With that he called lowered his sword, sheathing it quickly. "Jirou, Miyu!" He called as he turned to retrieve his lover, but not before sending the fearful _famiglia_ a quick warning glance. They had all saw how strong and quick he was in settling business with the Fanfioes.

Miyu released a breath she didn't know she was holding at the sound of his voice. He was fine. "Takeshi!" Miyu shouted happily as he climbed back into the cage. She ran towards him quickly, embracing him. "Are you hurt anywhere?" She questioned quickly as Takeshi placed a hand on her head and the other towards Jirou.

"Let's get out of here." He smiled towards Miyu and she nodded excitedly.

"Do you know where we are?" Miyu questioned as she realized she didn't even know where they were. She could even be in America for all she knew. The people who kidnapped her didn't seem to be from Japan. If she was in America, she wasn't sure how she'd get back to Japan. She was pretty sure her bank account had probably been emptied since her funeral. Actually, could she even go back to Japan? Everyone there thought she was dead. She couldn't exactly walk back into her house and be like 'Hey, Mom, Dad. I'm actually alive. I was just kidnapped by some Mafia goons for these last three years.' In all honestly, Miyu hadn't thought much about what she'd do once she had gotten free. "What am I going to do?"

"We're in Italy." Miyu's eyes grew the size of saucers. "No worries. Tsuna has it all figured out." Yamamoto reassured.

"'No Good Tsuna?!" Miyu shouted in despair. Though it was already well know that the nickname that once tormented the Decimo was no longer applicable to the male. She knew that Tsuna had improved from their time at Naminori, but still she wasn't prepared for what she saw when they reached their rendezvous point.

A stretch black Rolls-Royce was waiting for them there and out stepped out none other in Tsunayoshi, well dressed in a fitted dark blue suit with white pinstripes. Decorating his hands were two large strange gloves. But the strangest thing was the refined air that he carried with him as he exited the expensive looking car.

"T-Tsuna-kun?" Miyu stuttered unbelievingly as Yamamoto easily greeted him.

"Seems like we were right this time." Tsuna's commented was strengthened by a nod from his samurai. "Welcome back, Miyu-san." Tsuna greeted and held his gloved hand out for the girl to enter the car.

"You don't have to do that Jyuudaime!" A harsher voice criticized from inside the car, making the small girl jump back into Yamamoto.

"It's just Gokudera-san." Yamamoto reassured and sure enough the silver haired foreigner was inside the car as well, grumbling about something. His hands were decorated in rings and his arm bore a strange skull device.

"Jyuudaime?" Miyu repeated, glancing back at the once shorter male. Her eyes widened as she slowly realized what was happening. "You're the Vongola's boss?!" Miyu gaped much to the surprise of the three Vongolians, although for different reasons. Tsuna and Gokudera was surprise at the sheer fact that she knew about the Vongola _Famiglia_ whereas Yamamoto was surprised that hadn't figured out who he had been working for. "That means…" She rounded towards the bomber, "you're part of this Mafia thingie too!" Miyu raised her hand towards the male who easily caught sight of the rings on her right hand. Everything was finally making sense. The strange calls from Gokudera to Yamamoto regarding Tsuna and how Yamamoto could never say no.

"So it is true, you can use the flames…" He muttered to Miyu who quickly pulled her hand back a frown on her face.

"It's true?!" Tsuna yelled, his composure suddenly gone as his hand flew into his fluffy hair.

"Yeah, she can use the sun flame like Ryohei!" Yamamoto laughed as while the other two male stared at the small girl and the said girl stared back at Yamamoto, muttering 'Sasagawa-chan's Onii-san too?'

Yamamoto seemed to be the only individual fine with the turns of events as everyone else stood shock in their own worlds. Gokudera and Tsuna were both surprised at the innocent girl with the ability to formulate the dying will flames while Miyu was trying her best to wrap her head around the fact that just about everyone she knew was part of the Mafia. Only Yamamoto seem fine as he continued to laugh at his two family member's reactions. His laughter quieted as he stared at his lover's adorable thinking face.

He wrapped his arms around her smaller frame, nuzzling his face towards her neck, eliciting a blush to form on her face at the sudden contact. "W-what are you doing, Takeshi-kun?" The male didn't answer, instead he drew in a deep breath, enjoying the smell of lavenders glowing under the sunlight. The action caused the blush on the girl to deep. His arms tightened around her as he felt her try to squirm free. "I've missed you." He breathed, and Miyu stopped her actions. She placed her hands softly over his arm as she allowed him to lay there. Her eyes never leaving the crystal that shone on her hand.

It has been three years.

"I've missed you too."

-Extended Ending-

Gokuderu and Tsuna froze at the couple. Their surprise forgotten as they stared at the sight before them. Yamamoto had fallen asleep on Miyu as he held her in his arms, half-standing and half-leaning into her while Miyu seemed to somehow manage to stand under his weight. A soft smile glued onto her face. The sight was innocent, un-harming even. But the two males froze when the Japanese woman turned to face them, baby tears pooling at the corner of their eyes for reasons unbeknownst to them.

"Do you think she's going to cry?" Gokudera whispered, hoping his boss knew the answer.

Lucky didn't seem to be on his side. "I don't know, did we make her upset?" Tsuna responded back in an equally quiet voice.

"Iunno! She seem happy moments ago! What happened?!"

"She's staring at us!" He shrieked. "What are we going to do?"

"Damn that Yamamoto for falling asleep and leaving us to deal with her!"

Their panicked mind froze uneasily as Miyu cracked a warm smile towards the two panicked males. Even after ten years, they still weren't quite ready to face a woman's tears. Battles to the death, they could take, a crying woman, not so much.

"Thank you." Miyu mouthed silently towards the two males, trying now to wake the samurai resting on her. She wiped away the tears from her eyes as gestured, but not without noticing how the two had jumped at her actions. She giggled softly at their silly response and guested towards the stone on her finger. She wasn't sad. She was happy.


End file.
